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Thursday, April 3, 2014

Ohio's death row shrinks by one-third over 10 years

Ohio has carried out 54 executions since 1999, including three last year, the same as in 2012, reported the Columbus Dispatch. In recent years Ohio has been one of the leading states in carrying out executions.
The 2013 Capital Crimes Report issued this week by Attorney General Mike DeWine’s report says 316 people have been sentenced to death in Ohio since 1981, when capital punishment was restored after being overturned as unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.
In the past decade, Ohio’s Death Row has shrunk by one-third, from 209 to 139.
The report cites 18 gubernatorial commutations of death sentences: four by Kasich, five by Gov. Ted Strickland, one by Gov. Bob Taft and eight by Gov. Richard F. Celeste.
In all, 26 convicted killers have died in prison, including Billy Slagle of Cleveland, who committed suicide on Death Row on Aug. 4, 2013.
DeWine reported that 74 capital-punishment sentences were removed by the courts, and six, including Donna Roberts, the only woman currently sentenced to death in Ohio, are facing resentencing.
There have been 34 whites and 19 blacks executed, all males. They spent an average of 16.6 years in prison before being executed.
Of their 85 victims, 65 were adults and 19 were children. White victims outnumbered blacks 2-1.
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About Matt

An analysis of crime and punishment from the perspective of a former prosecutor and current criminal justice practitioner.
The views expressed on this blog are solely those of the author and do not reflect the opinions or postions of any county, state or federal agency.